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(11) | EP 1 017 130 A3 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Self-retaining spring clip assembly and an electrical connection incorporating the same |
| (57) A terminal connection for a flat stab of an electrical terminal includes a spring
clip (11) which retains a nut (12) in alignment with an aperture in the flat stab.
The spring clip (11) is fabricated from a strip of resilient electrically conductive
material and has a top wall (14) with a central aperture (22), side walls (16) extending
downward from the top wall and having slots (26) therein, and outwardly projecting
flanges (30) on the bottom edge of each of the side walls. A square nut (12) is retained
in the spring clip (11) by lateral projections (34) on the nut engaged in the slots
(26) in the side walls (16) with the tapped hole (38) in the nut aligned with the
aperture in the top wall of the clip. The fastener assembly (10) clips onto the end
of the flat stab which is in a recess in the electrical terminal, with the stab between
the nut and the top wall of the spring clip. The outer edges of the flanges on the
spring clip frictionally engage against the opposite sides of the recess in the terminal
to retain the spring clip and nut in the terminal until a screw (56) is passed through
the apertures in the top wall and the flat stab engages the nut to secure a conductor
(62) to the stab. The slots in the side walls of the clip prevent rotation of the
nut and provide positive stops which resist loss of the nut through application of
excessive axial force to the screw. |